Catheterization is a sterile process of draining urine from the bladder. Typically, a catheter is inserted into a bladder so that fluid can pass out through the catheter, into a conduit and then into a collection vessel. The amount of urine in the collection vessel is then measured.
With known systems, a significant amount of urine can remain or pool in the conduit and does not easily pass into the collection vessel. As such, it is difficult to determine accurately how much urine actually exited from the bladder. Urine output readings can thus not be accurately determined this way.
While it is possible manipulate or move (or “milk”) the conduit so that some urine trapped in the conduit can be forced or flushed via gravity into the collection vessel, this method is limited by things such as the following; because of limited venting, it is difficult to remove all of most of the urine in the conduit; and some urine will necessarily adhere to the inner wall of the conduit owing to factors such as surface tension. Also, this pooling of fluid within the conduit typically forces a clinician to intervene in order to force fluid into the collection vessel.
What is needed is a more reliable, consistent and easier way to accurately collect a biological fluid such as urine. What is needed is a system and method wherein a substantial portion of the fluid trapped in a fluid removal conduit is forced into the collection vessel using a gas in order to more accurately determine a quantity or volume of removed fluid. What is needed is a system and method which can more reliably and easily be used to accurately collect a fluid such as urine from a user. What is also needed is a system that reduces or eliminates the need for user intervention.